Rescued Whale Likely Died Within Five Days of Release

The whale, nicknamed Timmy, is believed to have died no more than five days after a large-scale rescue operation, according to environmental minister Till Backhaus. The whale is thought to have died on May 6 or 7, about two weeks after it was released into the Skagerrak strait.

This assessment is based on data from a tracking device attached to the whale before its release on May 2. The deceased whale later washed ashore on the Danish island of Anholt. The story of Timmy, which was later revealed to be a female humpback whale, had garnered significant attention, particularly in German media, for months prior.

The whale had repeatedly stranded on the German Baltic Sea coast earlier in the year. German authorities were unable to save it when it stranded at Timmendorfer Strand, leading a group of private individuals to raise funds for a rescue. This operation involved lifting the whale into a pool on a barge and transporting it through Danish waters for release.

Environmental groups had warned that the whale was weakened and likely to suffer during the operation. Backhaus stated that the whale was "not able to utilize the opportunity." The tracking device collected over 90,000 data points, including depth, temperature, and movement patterns, which will be made available to researchers. An autopsy performed in early June confirmed Timmy was female, but the cause of death remains unknown. Backhaus noted that the whale consistently had trouble orienting itself and continued to head towards the Baltic Sea, where it does not naturally belong.

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The whale had persistent problems with orientation. Even after the rescue operation, it sought direction towards the Baltic Sea, where the whale does not naturally belong.